Posts
Well, I'd intended to post this preview of autumn 2020 titles from British publishers a while ago, but time got away from me. The good news, though, is that for interested readers, there's no need to wait to get them because many are available now. Here are nine from my personal wishlist. Did any make it to your wishlist as well? Links below go to Goodreads.
Suzannah Dunn has written many insightful historical novels about Tudor personalities, and in The Testimony of Alys Twist (Little Brown UK, Oct.) she chooses a laundress-turned-spy in Princess Elizabeth's household, circa 1553, as her protagonist. Elizabeth (here writing as E.C.) Fremantle's newest historical thriller, The Honey and the Sting (Michael Joseph, Aug.) centers on three women and a secret in early Stuart-era England. The Glorious Guinness Girls by Emily Hourican (Headline Review, Sept.) is about the three real-life Guinness sisters, Anglo-Irish socialites in 1920s Ireland and London, as seen from an outsider's perspective.
I enjoy reading novels based on family history. A More Perfect Union, Tammye Huf's debut (Myriad Editions, Oct.), tells the story of her great-great-grandparents, an Irish immigrant and an enslaved woman, in 1840s Virginia. Naomi Miller's Imperfect Alchemist (Allison & Busby, Nov.) heads back to Tudor England to reveal the life of Mary Sidney, poet and literary patron, alongside that of a maid in her family's household. Continuing her fictional chronicles of medieval women, Anne O'Brien's The Queen's Rival (HQ, Sept.) centers on Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, a powerful figure during the Wars of the Roses (mother of Edward IV and Richard III). Women's lives seem to be a favorite theme of mine...
Caroline Scott's first WWI novel, The Poppy Wife / The Photographer of the Lost, stood out in a crowded field. Her second, When I Come Home Again (Simon & Schuster, Oct), reveals the story of a man with amnesia in a Durham hospital and three women who claim to know him. Acclaimed novelist Rose Tremain's latest work, Islands of Mercy (Chatto & Windus, Sept.) takes place in Bath, England, and in Borneo in 1865; it makes me curious how the novel's settings and characters will intertwine. Lastly Jeremy Vine's The Diver and the Lover, another "inspired by real events" novel, journeys with two English sisters over to Spain in 1951, as Dali begins a new artistic work.
Such a great list, and I wasn't aware of any of them! The new Tremain book sounds good, I enjoyed her "Restoration." The Caroline Scott book about WWI amnesia brings to mind John Boyne's YA novel "Stay Where You Are and Then Leave" which I really liked. Thanks for the list!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like Islands of Mercy has a US publisher yet - so strange. Her novels are always good. I also enjoyed Restoration and Merivel, especially.
ReplyDeleteI've read The Honey and The Sting and enjoyed it, although I didn't think it was as good as her previous one, The Poison Bed. I'm on the blog tours for Imperfect Alchemist and When I Come Home Again so will be reading those soon. The Diver and the Lover is in my TBR pile. So much good historical fiction about at the moment! I'm currently reading The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline and am looking forward to How To Belong by Sarah Franklin, The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis and The Smallest Man by Frances Quin.
ReplyDeleteI liked The Poison Bed but enjoyed her straightforward historicals even more (especially The Girl in the Glass Tower). That's great you're getting to read a couple of the books via blog tours. I recently finished The Diabolical Bones and will have a review up soon. The Smallest Man sounds good, too.
DeleteSuch a great list. They all deel interesting. I already read Dunn's novel and the ons from Fremantle and O Brien are high on my list! I Will also look out for reviews of Imperfect Alchemist and Islands of the sea.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear you've read Dunn's novel already. I just found your review, and it sounds like a mixed experience. Agreed on The May Bride. I especially want to get O'Brien's novel as she always picks interesting subjects. Today I read on her Facebook that she's going to be writing two novels about the Paston family - I can't wait.
Delete